Lawns- why??

[lil-minx92 10]

Why are do we have lawns? Keeping a lawn looking nice is hard work and they dont really do much. 

[francypants 441]

They look much nicer than concrete or gravel and provide natural drainage.

[lil-minx92 10]

But they could be planted out or landscaped. Why do we need a 'bare' area in the middle of the garden be it paving/lawn/gravel etc

[Chez2 10]

18 hours ago, lil-minx92 said:

Why are do we have lawns? Keeping a lawn looking nice is hard work and they dont really do much. 

Actually the do a lot, as francy pant said. They slow down rainwater to it can soak in. With so much hard landscaping thats why we are having so many floods when it rains heavily. 

 

I do take your point though. Many people think lawns are easier than borders but they aren't. Lawns take much more work than a properly planted, easy care border. We have various different areas of our garden, not all have lawns. 

[vwkittie 10]

For children/pets to play on, for sitting/laying out on a blanket, somewhere to put up a washing line

 

They're good for wildlife as well, lots of worms/insects that are accessible for blackbirds as an example.

Edited February 27, 2019 by vwkittie

[Chez2 10]

I don't sit on the grass, its damp or could have been dampened by my dogs. I sit on a chair not the grass. 

 

Why would you need lawn under the washing line? Do you just mean leave a space for washing? I have my rotary washing line in a gravelled area  a border, its just nought room for the washing to flap about. 

 

I have one lawn which is dotted with fruit trees and another which is left for the dogs to run around on or kids to play if we have visitors. Most people say they need a lawn for kids to play on but a lot of kids prefer a hard surface for their toy cars or bikes. 

 

You can grow plants through gravel francypants. We have two areas of our garden covered in membrane and gravel. We grow tropical / exotic plants through it. It conserves moisture and retains heat.

[vwkittie 10]

Yeah I meant leave a space for washing, we have a large rotary drier and I personally think lawn under is more attractive than paving or whatever. Also easy enough to move it if you want, just dig a new hole, fill in the old one and let the grass grow over.

[Chez2 10]

2 hours ago, vwkittie said:

Yeah I meant leave a space for washing, we have a large rotary drier and I personally think lawn under is more attractive than paving or whatever. Also easy enough to move it if you want, just dig a new hole, fill in the old one and let the grass grow over.

You can move in gravel, we still have soil under the gravel and it covers over instantly. I don't like muddy feet or muddy washing basket. I have a large and a medium rotary line. They have been in five different places during the nineteen years I have lived here.  We usually use a soil spike in to the ground but sometimes they (just the soil spike) get concreted in. I can removed them when not in use and cover the hole with a plastic cap to stop the gravel falling in the soil spike. I have low level plants growing through the gravel and right up to my washing line, its quite high up so the washing doesn't catch on anything.  The lawn would be compacted and muddy if it was under the line without anything to stand on. Most people have a slab or something to stand on under their washing line. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by Chez2

[vwkittie 10]

Ahh I was thinking under patio/gravel you'd have weed matting but yeah I guess without that you could still move it about easily enough. I have stepping stones across the lawn past our line anyway as I have to cross the lawn to get to my washing machine, which isn't much fun through winter!!

 

We have to have a lawn anyway as our dog won't pee on anything hard at all and much prefers grass, she's a bit odd

[punkin 10]

On ‎26‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 17:11, lil-minx92 said:

Why are do we have lawns? Keeping a lawn looking nice is hard work and they dont really do much. 

Bottom line for this reason is cost, lawns are the cheaper than concrete, decking etc.

[Chez2 10]

6 hours ago, vwkittie said:

Ahh I was thinking under patio/gravel you'd have weed matting but yeah I guess without that you could still move it about easily enough. I have stepping stones across the lawn past our line anyway as I have to cross the lawn to get to my washing machine, which isn't much fun through winter!!

 

We have to have a lawn anyway as our dog won't pee on anything hard at all and much prefers grass, she's a bit odd

Yes we do have membrane under the gravel. We have cut the membrane to put plants in and it has been cut for the washing line. We have an acre of land, Its too much to weed as we are rural and get a lot of weed seeds floating over from the fields and church yard.  

 

We put a pee post in our garden for the dogs. It was supposed to have hormones in it to make the dog pee up it but he pulled it up and carried it around. 

[lil-minx92 10]

On 01/03/2019 at 20:05, punkin said:

Bottom line for this reason is cost, lawns are the cheaper than concrete, decking etc.

I think youve hit the nail on the head.